Day 41... Austin

When I got to Austin this is what our booth looked like... it needed a lot of work!  Trade show did not open until Wednesday so there was no reason to panic.  This was a really cool process.  I got to see some amazing booths go from being nothing to being amazing in a really short period of time.  It is pretty amazing if you have never gotten to see it from that side.  This room would be my stage for the whole week.  It was a lot of fun and VERY EXHAUSTING!

Day 40... Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday found me still getting ready for the trade show in Austin.  Jake actually slowed down today and let us catch a picture of him at rest!  I am sure as soon as we were done taking the picture, he ran over to see what was going on... gotta love that dog!

Day 39... My Dogs are SO Cute!

While working on some things for a huge trade show in Austin, my dogs felt the need to be close by.  It was cold in the dining room and so Zoe cuddled up to Scrappy to keep warm.  Jake of course was circling me feet because he could not slow down.  I love my dogs!

Day 38... Home is Where Your Story Begins.

A couple of months ago, Lana went to a Scrapbooking retreat with some friends.  When she came home, she had made this canvas for our dining room.  The picture does not do it justice... it is a MASTERPIECE.  The quote says, "Home is where your story begins."  It is one of my favorite quotes of all time, and I just love that my wife is so creative and made this canvas for me.  I love walking in the front door and seeing this everyday!

Day 37... No Shoes with Wheels!

If you know me well at all, you know that I HATE this new trend of kids wheeling around public places on their Heelys!  When I had to stop by Mardel recently for some supplies for a trade show, I was greeted at the door with this sign.  It literally made my heart skip a beat!  I was so happy to see that a store has finally said what everyone else has wanted to say... Shoes with wheels are not acceptable!  I love kids, don't get me wrong, and I love when they are having fun, but there have been more than a few times when I wanted to trip a kid on wheels in the mall.  I said it... I know... you may think bad of me, but I haven't actually followed through on the thoughts!  Cheers to Mardel!

Day 36... CPAP in Action

So I posted earlier about my CPAP machine, and I posted the not so flattering pictures of me at the sleep study.  This is what Lana gets to see every night, me hooked up to the CPAP machine that keeps my airways open at night.  The good thing is that neither I nor the machine keep Lana up at night!  Here's to some restful sleep in my future... it's been a long time!

Day 35... Jake

Scrappy, our yellow lab, and Zoe, our Dachshund will pose for pictures... Jake on the other hand is another story.  He doesn't slow down for ANYTHING!  This was the best picture I could get of Jake.  Yep, the bone is bigger than him, but he loves it... and don't tell him that it is bigger than him, or that it belongs to Scrappy for that matter.  Jake is our classic middle child... he stays right by our side and "tells" on the other dogs when they are misbehaving.  Heck, he even gets on to them for us.  He is a great dog, although he does have some dog form of ADHD and OCD...

Day 34... Zoe Loves to Cuddle

Zoe, our miniature Dachshund loves to cuddle.  She loves to snuggle up in warm clothes fresh out of the dryer (see earlier post).  She loves anything soft and cuddly.  In an earlier post I showed you what happened to the dog bed we bought for their room before Christmas.  While picking up a perscription at CVS the other night, we happened upon these cute dog beds for $5.99... good deal.  So we bought two, one with pink stripes for Zoe and one with blue stripes for Jake.  Before you go feeling bad for Scrappy... he can't be bothered with dog beds, he only likes human beds.  Zoe loves her bed and Jake's bed.  She has dragged both of them all over the house.  It is a hilarious site.  Last night she curled up on her bed next to me while we watched American Idol... we love bonding over American Idol.  :)

Day 33... Kerri and I

Occasionaly, my sister-in-law Kerri and I will go to lunch together.  We are a pretty funny combination... not like make people laugh funny, funny because we can annoy the crap out of each other but we also love each other to death.  Today we went to Chili's for lunch and Kerri got a run in her pantyhose, so we went to Target afterwards.  As we were walking I stopped and told Kerri that she should get some of the fake Wayfarers.  She tried on a pair and then we decided we should try on some sunglasses and document the occasion.  We sent a picture to Lana and she replied that we are dorks.  We are, but we are lovable dorks!

Day 32... Monsieur Patate

As I mentioned earlier, I have this thing for Mr. Potato Head, or if you are in French speaking Canada, Monsieur Patate.  My new job has afforded me some fun and unique opportunities, one of which was a trip to Canada last year.  I went to Calgary to attend a training at SMART's world headquarters.  While there, myself and a fellow Education Consultant from my company got to meet some pretty cool people.  Since we didn't rent cars (we stayed right on the rail line about two stops from SMART), our Canadian friends volunteered to take us out and about at night.  One night we went to a big mall just south of Calgary, the largest mall in Alberta (it wasn't that big).  At the mall there was a Toys R Us... so I had to check.  Sure enough, there was a Mr. Potato Head that I did not have and the packaging was in English and French!  Too good to pass up!  While I realize this did not happen on Day 32, as the post would suggest, I did feel the need to share.  I was checking to make sure that the doors were locked before going to bed and I passed the guest bedroom where this Mr. Potato Head lives on a bookshelf and it brought back fond memories of a fun trip to Canada, so I snapped a pic!